This document presents a summary of family planning. It reviews existing literature, examining carefully what the current knowledge is, where the important issues or problems lie and “what works”. It is divided into ten sections. This guide was produced as a result of a reading week held for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) advisers in mid-2012. The topics and readings were chosen by experts in the field but are not a comprehensive review of all family planning literature. The main audience for this guide is policymakers, advisers, managers and practitioners.